Kukla's Korner Hockey

NEW YORK (November 1, 2011) – Edmonton Oilers defenseman Andy Sutton has been suspended, without pay, for five games for delivering an illegal hit to the head of Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog during NHL Game No. 138 Friday night in Denver, the National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced today.

Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, and based on his average annual salary, Sutton will forfeit $57,432.45. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

The incident occurred at 3:23 of the third period. Sutton was assessed a minor penalty for elbowing.

Sutton missed Sunday’s game vs. St. Louis and will miss games Nov. 3 at Los Angeles, Nov. 5 at Phoenix, Nov. 8 at Montreal and Nov. 10 at Boston. He will be eligible to return Nov. 11 at Detroit.

Comments

BS. I’m not even a Sutton fan. But he stepped up to make a big hit and ACCIDENTALLY hit the Avs player in the head. He didn’t “choose” his head as Shanahan says. That’s asinine. What makes me want to puke is Shanahan played this game for so long and should damn well know that is fast and that accidents happen.

You can’t honestly think that’s just a missed hit. I’m sorry, I just don’t believe you.

There is not a point in that hit where he’s ever going to make contact with ANYTHING but Landeskog’s head. Landeskog doesn’t move, doesn’t change position, doesn’t do anything to change where the point of contact is going to be.

Was it intentional? I don’t know. It was no less intentional than Brendan Smith’s hit on Ben Smith, and he got 5 games (AND 3 pre-season).

Good call by Shanahan. I was worried he was going to back off after the union started to raise some noise. The days of predators looking for unsuspecting hits and destroying careers and lives is ending. Goons taking out budding superstars will soon be over.

I know you are a Sens fan, but tha Wolski hit was nothing but incidental. If anything Alfie ran into Wolski, he flicted him off with a slight elbow shrug. This hit was not the end of the world you are making it out to be.

Timbits - I disagree on the hit. I think he intended to deliver the hit - and I have support from Wolski on that point, who made post-game comments to the tune of ‘I thought it was a clean hit’.

I think he’s blatantly wrong on the ‘clean’ part - it was not only late, but to the head with an elbow involved - but he’s obviously agreeing that it was an intentional hit.

Secondly, if the ‘Department of Player Safety’ believes the hit was legal or unintentional - where’s the explanation to that effect?

Montreal got such an explanation for the hit on their #7 defenceman. Ottawa’s captain - the player who is by far most important not only to the play of the team, but the marketting of the team - is concussed and will miss significant time. Why are we not similarly entitled - at least - to an explanation of why Shanahan doesn’t think the hit was on Alfredsson was an issue?

The answer, of course, is that the league is just as afraid of the grey areas as they ever were. Easy to suspend sutton, he’s got a history - easy to not suspend on the Campoli hit, he had the puck and turned his head. So videos for those ones. But when a decision gets a little more controversial? Same whispers and rumours and official silence we always got.

I understand the frustration with the elbow. Though I don’t put it in the category that you do. Shanahan made it clear on the Ryan Smyth elbow that he views those differently. I am not sure why he differentiates, the only thing I can think is that he played with very high elbows his whole career and doesn’t want to associate his own behavior with this crackdown.